Spain earthquake: Lorca

residents assess damage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-
13371472
The quake caused widespread panic in Lorca

Residents in the Spanish town of Lorca

are assessing the damage from quakes
that killed nine people and forced
thousands to spend the night outdoors.

The mayor of the historic town, with a population of 90,000, said: "Almost
no-one slept in their homes".

Some 20,000 buildings are believed to have been damaged in what was
Spain's worst earthquake for 50 years.

The magnitude 5.2 tremor hit early on Wednesday evening, around two
hours after a quake measuring 4.4.

Those who died - including at least one pregnant woman and a child - were
killed by falling masonry in the second tremor.

Regional officials say at least 130 people have been injured, with several in
a serious condition.

'Very scared'

Lorca's Mayor Francisco Jodar said most of the town's population had spent
the night sheltering in their cars, streets, public squares or other towns.

Some camped out in an outdoor basket ball court, and others used
children's playgrounds.

"We have provided them with blankets, food, water and both medical and
psychological attention," he said.

"It is very sad to see neighbours spending the night in the street," he
added. "There is desperation and fear that there could be another
seismological event."

Many people were queuing at first light for food and hot drinks from
emergency workers.

Some were returning to their homes to assess the damage, although many
were ordered to keep away until a safety assessment of their buildings had
been carried out.
"We are very scared, because ours [house] didn't collapse, but they are
very damaged," one resident, Jose Crespo, said. "All the village has fallen,
everything... All the buildings have been affected."

"We know we live near a fault line but we never thought this would
happen," another resident Pepe Tomas, 56, told the AFP news agency.
"People are afraid. No-one here has ever seen anything like this before."

The Red Cross says it has moved in 24 ambulances and set up three field
hospitals.

Hundreds of military teams are now in the town, searching the rubble for
victims and survivors, beginning the clean-up and checking which buildings
are safe to enter.

Schools and some roads remain closed, although some train services have
now been restored, Spanish media reports.

Medieval town

The most powerful earthquake struck the town, in Murcia region, at 1847
(1647 GMT), at a depth of just 10km (six miles). The shock could be felt as
far away as Madrid.

"These [tremors] were like huge pushes from below, then violent shakes
left and right. It was quick, but completely terrifying," Lorca resident Angel
Dominguez.

Hundreds of residents and workers streamed out of buildings and gathered

in squares, parks and open spaces amid fears of further tremors.

Witnesses described seeing rubble and masonry rain down on people as

they fled.

Some 350 ambulances were used to evacuate 400 patients from two
hospitals in the town, regional officials said.

Lorca is an ancient town, with many medieval buildings and streets badly
damaged in the quake.

A Spanish cameraman had a lucky escape after TV pictures captured the

dramatic moment the bell tower from a 17th Century church crashed to the
ground just metres from him.

Spain has hundreds of earthquakes every year but most of them are too
small to be noticed.

Murcia is the country's most seismically active area and suffered tremors in
2005 and 1999. It is close to the large faultline beneath the Mediterranean
Sea where the European and African continents meet.